You feel overlooked, but your parents’ disappointing behaviour does not necessarily mean they don’t love you

I turned 40 a few years ago. For my 21st and 30th birthdays I got jewellery from my parents, so when they didn’t ask what I wanted, I assumed they would follow this tradition. But I got nothing. Not even an apology. It later transpired that they thought I was turning 41. But even then to receive nothing is hurtful. They blamed it on old age and said they had been struggling with their health.

I place a lot of importance on gift giving. It isn’t about the value, but it’s nice to feel someone has spent time thinking about you. To get nothing just screamed that they didn’t care.

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Ever-open, eminently relatable, sensibly priced spots of this sort will always have an audience

A London chophouse has taken up residence on St Philip’s Place, Birmingham, on the edge of Cathedral Square, or “Pigeon Park”, as the locals call it. This particular nook of Brum city centre is a magnet to those feathered blighters, although Blacklock’s smoulderingly macho menu is ironically pigeon-meat free, revolving instead around heaps of chops and steaks cooked over charcoal. There’s porterhouse, bone-in sirloin, lamb rump and pig’s head on toast.

Launched in London in 2015, Blacklock was the elegant, edgy, no-nonsense dining experience for groovy young things who quite literally wanted meat and two veg, so long as said veg was dripping-fat chips; it now has five sites in the capital and another in Manchester. “We just ended up at Blacklock,” people used to tell me half a dozen times a week, then go on to rave about the bread, the gravy and the ash-baked sweet potatoes, and revel in the glorious simplicity of it all. Modern life was complex, Blacklock was not, but neither was it cheap enough to feel like a jaunt down the Toby Carvery. And now its big flavours and broad appeal have hit the UK’s second city.

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Jensen Huang’s affair with a suspected spy is Silicon Valley’s worst nightmare come true

The resignation this week of Nvidia’s founder and CEO Jensen Huang is one of the most astonishing corporate scandals in memory, featuring allegations of international espionage and extramarital affairs involving one of the world’s most powerful men. As investigations mount into what went wrong at the $4tn chip company, the saga may also become a milestone in the decades-long history of spies infiltrating the US tech industry.

Huang admitted to being unfaithful to his wife of 41 years in a letter to employees this past weekend, following a report from the New York Times that the tech mogul had a close relationship with a woman US officials suspect of spying for China’s government. Huang resigned on Thursday after 33 years as CEO amid reports of two additional affairs with Nvidia employees, causing the world’s most valuable chip company’s stock to plummet.

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Thames Water says detainees at proposed accommodation should expect to experience insect swarms and strong smells

A Home Office plan to build asylum seeker detention facilities next to a sewage pump is facing objections after water company officials warned that detainees should expect to experience insect swarms and strong smells.

Proposed secure accommodation blocks at Campsfield House immigration removal centre in Oxfordshire will be 20 metres from a sewage pumping station, according to a written submission from Thames Water.

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International court of justice has never before found a state guilty of genocide, and ruling will have implications for case against Israel

The world’s top court will deliver a judgment this week on whether Myanmar committed genocide against its Rohingya minority, in a landmark case that will set a critical 21st-century benchmark for the gravest of all international crimes.

The closely watched judgment could become one of the most significant moments in international law since the end of the second world war.

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As teenagers, my friends and I thought it was glamorous to have relationships with older men. But after the revelations about Russell Brand and David Walliams, I have started to see that period of my life in a new light

It has been a strange time to be a “woman of a certain age”, as Gregg Wallace so charmingly labelled us. Many of us were consumed by every detail of the Russell Brand trial and the David Walliams exposé. We were pleasantly surprised, albeit dazed – stunned even – by there being consequences for their behaviour, because that’s not how it usually goes, in our experience.

A few days ago, while spending time with a group of fellow certain-agers, among whom this was the main topic of discussion, as it has been pretty much everywhere I’ve been, I confessed to something of which I’m ashamed. If I had been the woman Brand was found guilty of raping – in an attack that was difficult even to read about – I worry that I would have felt powerless to complain about what had happened. I would have thought consent would be taken as a blanket statement that covered whatever followed, however horrifying and unwanted; that I’d made my bed, so was obliged to lie in it, come what may. My friends, it should be noted, felt the same. Thank God the heroic woman forced to endure Brand’s attack knew better.

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Educators voice concerns as thousands of children facing exams miss up to 150 hours of class

For several weeks, Alex, 16, has woken at 4am and walked 90 minutes in the dark from his northern Paris suburb so he can help gather wheelie bins to blockade his high school in Vincennes.

In a tote bag, he brings some masks and some swimming goggles in case of police teargas. His parents, who work in the arts and vote left, support the French school student protesters who since September have blocked schools demanding repairs to dilapidated school buildings, more replacement teachers, a solution to overcrowded classes and more equality in the university application system.

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Order by judge Ana Reyes is the latest instance of the federal judiciary pushing back against Trump’s efforts to redesign the nation’s capital

A federal judge has ordered a temporary suspension of any work at a historic Washington public golf course, in the latest setback for US president Donald Trump’s plan to turn it ⁠into a championship-level course.

In a 30-page decision, US district judge Ana Reyes temporarily blocked the federal government from moving forward with a plan that would have closed East Potomac Park on Sunday. Trump said in an 18 ⁠October social media post that the closure would last 15 months and transform the park’s golf offerings into “one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World”.

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Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

date stamped on slide, July 18, 1987. Handwritten on slide: "Dennis with children, Megan (9) and Michael (4) -- Palos Verdes"

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In Australia at least, older people and couples who get out and about in the caravans and campers are known as grey nomads. In the hotter states, peak time to be on the road or camped is winter in the cooler months. By now, mid November it's starting to get a bit hot especially in more central and northern parts of Australia even though bouts of hot weather can stretch down into the south including Tasmania.

Last week, we finally grabbed a week to substitute for our usual winter holiday on the road, although it only amounted to day trips. One day, we ventured onto a totally rural road south of Brisbane and south of Beaudesert which is south of Brisbane to the valleys behind the Lamington National Park. Despite the rising heat, there were still a few grey nomads parked in the campgrounds at Darlington on the Kerry Road that used to lead to the Lost World. It is a place we have never been before.

And didn't go all the way, quite, as I was using an old traditional paper map and unfortunately the old guesthouse at that location is now closed as is access to the spot at the end of the road. Nevertheless it was a pleasant rural drive into unknown rural territory along the upper reaches of the Albert River. For those in the know, it's more or less down below O'Reilly's!

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A portrait view featuring the Baobab...

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Sydney Tower Eye would be one of the first places I would visit as a tourist, but as a local there always seem to be better ways to spend the cash. It's probably No.3 in Sydney's attractions behind the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

Designed by architect Donald Crone for AMP, Sydney Tower opened in 1981 as the Centrepoint retail and office complex. Its slender shaft and golden turret rise 309 metres. It took 13 years and $36 million to build and it's still the city’s tallest structure.

Surprisingly, it wasn't a TV transmission tower, but was commissioned by AMP at a time when suburban malls were overtaking city department stores as shopping destinations, and the city was deserted after dark. The tower was intended as a tourist drawcard for 1 million visitors a year (which it achieved) and to give people a reason to come back to the CBD.

Above the Westfield shopping complex on the ground floor, much of its public space sits in a raised pod supported by a narrow central column and stabilised by 56 steel cables. Its engineering gives it structural resilience and an unmistakable silhouette.

There is an observation deck and an outdoor Skywalk, opened in 2005 (temporarily closed in 2026), a glass-floored platform 268 metres up with panoramic views to the Blue Mountains and Sydney’s harbour, coastline and city sprawl. The tower also hosts a charity stair race up 1,504 steps.

A $12 million refurb added Bar 83, Infinity and SkyFeast in 2020, renewing the tower’s appeal as a dining destination.

Bijna elke ouder in Nederland krijgt kinderbijslag. Maar wie over de grens kijkt, ziet hoe bescheiden het Nederlandse bedrag is.

Nederland: per kwartaal en per leeftijd

In Nederland wordt kinderbijslag per kwartaal betaald en hangt het bedrag af van de leeftijd van je kind. Sinds 1 juli 2026 gelden deze bedragen per kind per kwartaal:

• 0 tot en met 5 jaar: €298,40, ongeveer €99 per maand
• 6 tot en met 11 jaar: €362,35, ongeveer €121 per maand
• 12 tot en met 17 jaar: €426,29, ongeveer €142 per maand

Duitsland: €259 per kind

In Duitsland krijgen ouders sinds januari 2026 €259 per kind per maand. Dat bedrag is voor elk kind gelijk, ongeacht de leeftijd of het aantal kinderen. Op jaarbasis is dat €3.108 per kind.

Voor een peuter krijgt een Duits gezin dus ruim 2,5 keer zoveel als een Nederlands gezin.

Vlaanderen: €190,66 plus extra’s

In België regelt elke regio de kinderbijslag zelf. In Vlaanderen heet het het Groeipakket. Voor kinderen die sinds 1 januari 2019 zijn geboren, is het basisbedrag €190,66 per maand. Dat bedrag geldt sinds 1 september 2026.

Daarbovenop komen een eenmalig startbedrag van €1.310,75 bij de geboorte en een jaarlijkse schoolbonus van €23,82 tot €71,48, afhankelijk van de leeftijd.

Op een rij: een kind van drie

• Duitsland: €259 per maand
• Vlaanderen: €190,66 per maand
• Nederland: ongeveer €99 per maand

Een eerlijke vergelijking?

Helemaal eerlijk is die vergelijking niet. Nederland kent naast de kinderbijslag ook het kindgebonden budget: een extra bijdrage voor kinderen tot 18 jaar, die afhangt van onder meer je inkomen.

In Duitsland kan een fiscale aftrekpost voor ouders met een hoger inkomen voordeliger uitpakken dan het Kindergeld.

Toch blijft het verschil in de vaste basis groot. Met de huidige bedragen krijgt een Duitse ouder voor een kind van drie ruim €1.900 per jaar meer dan een Nederlandse.

Meer weten?

• SVB: bedragen en betaaldagen kinderbijslag
• Vlaanderen.be: bedragen Vlaams Groeipakket
• Rijksoverheid: wanneer heb je recht op kindgebonden budget?

De veiling van het werk Bloeiende kastanjebomen van Vincent van Gogh door Sotheby's is problematisch geworden, omdat het werk in de nazitijd mogelijk onder dwang is verkocht. Dat meldt de BBC.

Het is de bedoeling dat het schilderij woensdag in New York onder de hamer gaat. De geraamde opbrengst is 180 miljoen dollar (ruim 160 miljoen euro).

Het werk was eigendom van de Duitse familie Fischer. Nazaten van de familie zeggen dat het tijdens de opkomst van de nazi's mogelijk onder dwang is verkocht.

Sotheby's zegt dat eigen onderzoek heeft uitgewezen dat dit niet het geval is, maar streeft een oplossing in overleg met de nazaten van de familie Fischer na.

Volgens een advocaat van de familie is het verkocht wegens financiële problemen van de familie Fischer onder de nazi's.

Tientallen vliegtuigen boven Nederland verloren maandag hun gps-signaal. Het is de tweede keer dit jaar dat Nederland doelwit is van het opzettelijk verstoren van navigatiesignalen.

Voor het eerst is het ruimtevaartbedrijf SpaceX erin geslaagd om een raket na lancering weer op te vangen met gigantische, mechanische armen. Het is een belangrijke stap richting de ontwikkeling van een volledig herbruikbare raket.

"Lucasfilm and Disney have restored the original Star Wars (1977) and will release the film in multiple formats, including Imax 70mm [starting February 19], as part of the franchise's 50th anniversary celebrations," reports Deadline.

The original film will also be displayed in its original 16:9 format on the center of Cosm's 12K+ LED Dome, in a special presentation developed with Disney, Lucasfilm, ILM, and MakeMake. They're calling it a "Shared Reality production" where "the surrounding visual environments dynamically evolve to immerse the audience in iconic Star Wars locations and moments."

Deadline reports more 50th anniversary celebrations

In addition to the Imax 70mm screenings, the film will also be presented in Digital Imax, Digital Cinema, 70mm, 35mm, and 4DX. On May 4th, 2027, Lucasfilm will release a new behind-the-scenes documentary, The Hero Awakens, from filmmaker R.J. Cutler on Disney+. Star Wars events already on the calendar for 2027 include Shawn Levy's [movie] Star Wars: Starfighter, which will be released May 28.

There's also a new poster paying homage to the original 1977 film, reports the Disney news site Mickey Visit, plus a newly orchestrated score by John Williams that they assume "will be used on all the projects that debut this year."

On April 2-3, [Disney] will debut the new "Star Wars in Concert: The Skywalker Saga" at the Hollywood Bowl. The show will be hosted by Anthony Daniels, known for his role as C-3PO. Special performances of John Williams' iconic film scores will feature scenes and music from all nine Skywalker Saga films. The concert is a sweeping celebration of the stories, themes, and music that have inspired audiences around the world for five decades...
They also teased that new and legacy licensees — including Hasbro, the LEGO Group, adidas, Mars, Aston Martin, Steinway, Hajime Sorayama presented by Complex, and more — will introduce 50th-anniversary collections... In the opening of the press release, Disney mentioned that as part of the announcements there will be "reimagined Disney Parks and Cruise Line offerings."

The article adds that the April's Star Wars Celebration at the Los Angeles Convention Center has already sold out.

There's more Star Wars news, writes long-time Slashdot reader schwit1
A light saber used by Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" movies The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi sold Thursday for nearly $5 million in an auction. The light saber, which was used in the climactic duel in Cloud City in which Vader tells Luke Skywalker "I am your father" sold for $4.875 million at the Ultimate Star Wars Auction held by Heritage Auctions. The sale marks a world auction record for any "Star Wars" collectible, according to the auction house.
The previous record was Heritage's $3,750,000 sale of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber and severed hand effects rig on July 15, 2026. And they're still auctioning more Star Wars memorabilia...

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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